


Parks and Reconsideration

by TouchingOldMagic



Series: Ghostbusters 30 Day Challenge [27]
Category: Ghostbusters - All Media Types, The Real Ghostbusters
Genre: Bust Fic, Gen, Urban Legends, cryptid, the fresno nightcrawler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:07:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25084390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TouchingOldMagic/pseuds/TouchingOldMagic
Summary: Day 27 of the Ghostbusters 30 Day ChallengePrompt: The Real GhostbustersA stake out for a certain famous California cryptid doesn't go exactly as planned.
Series: Ghostbusters 30 Day Challenge [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1779643
Kudos: 7





	Parks and Reconsideration

"I still can't believe we flew all the way to Cali and we're not stepping one foot in Hollywood," Peter groused, leaning back against a large, flat rock. His pack dug into his back in the new position, but it was preferable to his legs falling asleep.

"Shhh! Peter, how are you not excited? Tonight we could prove once and for all the existence of the Fresno Nightcrawler!" Ray practically vibrated. They had been crouched in the bushes in a lavish California neighborhood park for over an hour with no sign of their quarry, but he remained undaunted.

Peter shifted again, rubbing the pins and needles out of his leg. Dutifully he kept his voice down. The Nightcralwers were supposedly shy to human exposure and he didn't want to give any of them a reason to hold back. Hopefully they only had to spend one night out here with the bugs and the twigs. "After all the things we've seen, Ray, you still get a kick out of proving these urban legends."

"Sure," Ray whispered back cheerfully. "I mean, we haven't proven THIS one yet."

Egon held up a hand suddenly as the PKE meter he held lit up. He had set it on silent, but there was no way to dim the light of the display screen, lighting up his angular face in green. "Ambient PKE readings are climbing," he reported. "I believe a manifestation is imminent."

Winston muttered, "'Bout time."

Ray pulled his Ecto Goggles down from his forehead and lifted up a modified video camera. "Show time," he breathed.

The night air was cool, for California, and a soft breeze rustled the grass and the bushes of the park. The Fresno street lights were dimmed by distance. Here in the center of the park, the almost full moon tinted the dark scene in silver highlights.

The Ghostbusters held their collective breath. Seconds ticked by without a visual sighting. Then, on the lawn in the center of the park, three small forms slowly ambled into the moonlight. Maybe three feet tall at most, the ghostly creatures were white and identical: all three appeared to be nothing more than a pair of long, thin legs with a round head at the top. Two dark identations in the head area might have been eyes. The entities swayed in the light breeze as they crossed the park, one slow step at a time, as if they were moving to a waltz only they could hear.

The four men watched them in silence until the Nightcrawlers made it to the middle of the open area they were traversing. The green light of the PKE meter and the tiny red light on Ray's camera were the only sources of illumination other than the moon, but the bright white ghosts stood out like beacons on the dark lawn, moving like a little silent parade.

"All right, let's bag us some ghosts!" Peter suddenly announced, bursting out of the bushes with his thrower drawn.

The three Nightcrawlers jumped at his sudden appearance and went sprawling, a tangle of long, limber legs. Though they didn't have mouths, they managed to send up a trio of urgent wails as they worked to scramble back upright, writhing across the grass like worms.

Ray, Egon and Winston followed Peter out of their hiding place. Working in a practiced maneuver, Peter and Ray held their positions and Egon and Winston spread out to either side, boxing in the spirits.

The Nightcrawlers tried to stand up but due to either the damp grass or a bad sense of balance or their fright, they kept slipping and falling back down. They wriggled first one way, then the other, but at each direction they found the tip of a particle thrower pointed at them. In the end they huddled together in the center of the Ghostbusters, making a miserable peeping noise.

"Aw geez," Ray said, "they look terrified." He lowered his thrower, unable to continue threatening the little things. "You know, they're not really bothering anyone," he pointed out. "All the reports just say they march around and run off if anyone spots them."

"They do look pretty harmless," Winston agreed. After Ray, he was always the second one to give in to sympathy on the job.

"They barely register as Class Threes," Egon concurred, glancing down at his PKE screen.

Peter stared at his teammates in disbelief. He had just sat in the bushes for over an hour, bored out of his mind and getting poked by every twig and stone he sat on, and now he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you telling me we came all the way to California, and we're not even going to bust the things!?" he demanded.

The Nightcrawlers warbled on the ground, somehow sounding both hopeful and pitiful.

"Well . . . it's true Mr. Manning just hired us to prove they exist," Winston said with a shrug.

Ray nodded and pointed to the video camera in his hand. "Yeah, and we got that."

Peter sighed and threw his hands up in surrender. Egon and Winston moved back toward Peter and Ray, leaving the space around the creatures open. The three little Nightcrawlers chirped something and looked around, surprised by their sudden freedom. Then they managed to get up and bolted into the night, their long legs a blur as they moved. They were out of sight in seconds.

"When I get back to the hotel," Peter announced, "I'm ordering a ton of room service. And a massage. And whatever's on Pay Per View tonight. And..." His voice trailed behind the Ghostbusters as they made their way out of the park.


End file.
